This is what the workshop looked like at Christmas 2008.

I did some changes in March this year, like moving the dust collection and rearranging the layout in the main part of the workshop, which has already paid benefits, but I cannot get a second work bench into the space.

I came up with this proposal, but when the planning guy came, wanted full architect drawings and full planning permission – this was going to cost me over $1000, before I even started the so that idea was shelved.

I then came up with this solution, to move the lumber storage into the space that was occupied by the fire wood, and to use my current area for lumber storage for the 2 workbenches.

I started this project in mid March, but due to the ground being frozen, I had to stop excavation of the firewood store until warmer weather came (we get about 3’ of frost here)

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This is the area that is being salvaged/recycled you can see that the new floor level is about 9” below the surrounding ground.

Here is a close look at the existing external wall, I have not removed any material from under wall, it is there with no support in the summer, the weight of the snow on the roof makes the wall come into contact with the frozen ground (not my design feature)

I am trying to be a little clever here. As long as I do not make any structural changes or modify the external wall, I can get around planning permission, as it then classed as an internal change and is not subject to all these rules and fees.

I purchased some of the lumber for this job on Friday afternoon and got started on Saturday morning – and I have been hard at it for 2 days.

I laid 4*4 pressure treated stock on the concrete slabs, then every 2’ laid a cross brace. then a sheet of heavy grade plastic, which will keep the water from flooding the shop. The the flooring was laid (4×1 spruce planks) over the plastic sheet. The plastic sheeting continues up the side & end walls, also the roof, this is to make a humidity barrier.

And lastly I ran in some 6×2 verticals to add some strength to the roof and also to support the lumber rack that will be built in the room.

This where it stands at the moment, tomorrow (Monday), I need to get some of the insulation in, open up the wall for the internal door, and close and seal the opening at the near end, before the rain comes on Tuesday, then we are wind and water tight – I,ll keep you posted.

Regular dusting, preferably with a static duster or feather type cleaner. Using a normal cloth can scratch the finish.

Try re-buffing the project, if a shine cannot be achieved, then apply a light coat of wax, allow the wax to dry, then rebuff the project to restore its full glory.

If the work piece looks dull, especially if using Tongue Oil on Oak, then an application of wax maybe necessary after 2 – 3 months, and again after 6 months. This because the oil is still drying and being absorbed into the wood. After the 6 month period you should not have to worry about this phenomena, and routine maintenance should be sufficient.

DO NOT.
Use aerosol furniture polish. Most of these polishes contain silicone, which is detrimental to the natural waxes used.
use detergents or water – if the piece becomes sticky or dried on dirt is present, then use a damp cloth to wipe away the dirt, allow it to dry and then reapply a the wax.

Do not place the item to close to a fire or heater – the heat will damage the wood and melt/soften the wax.

Try to keep real wooden projects out of strong direct sunlight.

Before we get too much into this part, there are a few things we have to consider about the wood we are using for our project, especially if we want a high shine on the project.

OPEN/CLOSE GRAIN
Some woods, such as Oak, Mahogany and Walnut have what is called “open grain”, whilst others like Cherry, Maple and Birch have what is called “close grain”. The open grain woods, if not treated correctly will always give an interrupted surface, such as an orange or lemon is compared to an apple.
To overcome this problem, we need to “fill the grain” – this is easily achievable with grain filler (subject of another lecture) which are commercially available.

GRAIN ENHANCEMENT
Does the wood we want finish have some nice grain or features we want to enhance, such as a burl. If it does then we would be better of using an oil to start the process of finishing. Oils tend to enhance the grains and patterns in wood more than any other finish available.

CHANGING THE COLOUR
Does the wood need to be stained? Why do we stain wood – 2 main reasons firstly to alter the appearance of the wood, Alder or Aspen to look like Walnut or Mahogany. Secondly and probably more importantly to balance the colour of the same wood but from a different plank/board i.e adjacent glued up boards (subject of another lecture).

For this demonstration I am using a piece of White Oak (open Grain), which we want to be darker than the natural colour, we also want it to have a medium to high shine, with good protection against food, wine and some heat resistance.

Step 1.
Sand the piece to be protected starting at 80g, then 120g, 180, 240g , ensuring that you sand with the grain wherever possible.

Step 2.
Clean the piece of all dust, ensure that all traces of glue have been removed.

Step 3
Apply the stain and leave to dry. Note if using a NGR (Non Grain Raining) stain then Step 4 can be omitted.

Step 4
Sand the entire project again with 240g (or the highest grit you used in Step 1) in the direction of the grain. This is to remove any grain that might have been “raised” during the staining process (especially prevalent with water based stains)

Step 5.
Apply the grain filler (you should use a darker filler than the final colour you want to achieve, this will allow for the natural darkening of the project to blend with the filler in a short time.) in small circular motion, leave the filler to dry. Using a clean piece of sacking wipe the excess filler of the work piece ensure you wipe across the grain, NOT with the grain.

Step 6.
Re-sand the piece again – using 240g (or the highest grit you used in Step 1) in the direction of the grain.

Step 7 (Optional)
Re-apply a coat of stain (optional) as in step 3. This maybe may be necessary, if you have removed too much wood during the sanding process or if you want to make the project darker/fuller in colour.

Step 8.
We now apply our first protective coating – this could be oil, varnish, Oil/varnish mix, shellac or some other medium. This coating is going to give us the high degree of protection we need for everyday use.

I have used Osmo Polyx Hardwax oil, as it is one of the easiest to apply, gives a superb finish and very resistant to spills and scratching.
Apply a thin coat of the Osmo Polyx hardwax oil to the whole piece, then with a clean cloth remove any excess.(this should be done with 15 minutes of application), if necessary on larger pieces work in sections or zones. Leave to dry for 12 hours or overnight.

Tip/Hint The cloths, brushes, sponges etcetera used for the application of this oil can be used again, place the cloths, brushes, sponges etcetera in a plastic bag, remove most of the air, seal the bag and put it in the freezer. When you want to reuse them, just let them defrost and you are ready to go.

Step 9.
Re-sand the piece again – using 320g in the direction of the grain.

Step 10.
Apply a second coat of the Osmo Polyx Hardwax oil, in the same manner as Step 8. Leave to dry for a minimum of 12 hours.

Step 11.
Re-sand the piece again – using 600g in the direction of the grain. If you want a higher sheen, especially for table tops, then Re-sand the piece with 1000g, then 1500g. Remove any dust and allow to dry.

Step 12.
We are now ready to apply our 1st coat of wax. We are going to use Fiddes “Mellow wax, this wax is formulated for applying onto prefinished pieces such as our sample. Whilst we can use a coloured wax, there is no real advantage in this example as the wood is so dark, the wax would not have any appreciable effect. We could also use the Fiddes “Supreme wax” just as easily, it is just that I prefer the use of the Mellow wax for this application.

Apply a light coat of wax to the piece rubbing in small circular motion, then finish off by rubbing with the grain of the wood. Ensure to remove any surplus wax before it has dried.
Leave to dry for the required time

Step 13.
Buff the piece with a clean dry soft cloth, preferably in the direction of the grain.

Step 14.
Repeat the application wax in step 12.

Step 15.
Repeat step 14. When fully buffed the work is finished – the project can now be used. However for full protection, I would prefer to leave the piece for an additional 2 weeks in cool (not cold) dry conditions, just to let the Osmo Polyx Hardwax oil fully cure. (if using Oil/Varnish or Varnish, then I would leave it for 6 weeks) After this time a additional buffing, would not hurt, or even an additional light coat of wax.

On the market today there are a multitude of products to choose from natural waxes, such as Bees Wax or Carnauba Wax to hybrid waxes, which are mixed with other oils and waxes to make application and drying times faster. These hybrid wax systems are usually available in different colours, which enable you to stain wood at the same time as providing a protective finish.

There are 2 basic ways of apply wax to the project, depending upon the required finish.
1. Directly to bare wood
2. On top of another medium, such as Oil, shellac or Varnish.

Applying to untreated wood.

Step 1.
For applying directly to bare/untreated wood, the wood should be sanded to about 180 grain for a matt finish, 320 grain for a semi-gloss finish and 600 grain for a higher sheen. All sanding should be in the direction of the grain where possible, ensuring that there are no traces of glue remaining.

Step 2.
Remove all traces of sanding dust, by cloth or vacuum.

Step 3.
Apply a small amount Fiddes “Supreme wax” with 0000 wire wool in the direction of the wood grain; not forgetting to get into the corners and joint lines. Immediately remove any excess wax with a separate soft cloth, again in the direction of the grain. It should be noted that the use of coloured waxes will darken the wood, and subsequent applications of coloured wax will deepen the colour. You should always test the colour waxes on scrap wood from the project.

Step 4.
Leave the wax to dry in accordance with the manufactures instructions, between 3 to 30 minutes depending upon the type of wax used and conditions in the room.

Step 5.
Buff the wax in the direction of the grain, wherever possible with a soft cloth. Leaving a super sheen.

Step 6.
Apply further coats of wax as necessary or desired.

These three short blogs are the notes presented at a demonstration I gave last Friday evening. Sorry there are no photographs at the moment – not that there would be much to see. I hope you find it useful.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Finishing
This presentation is going to try and explain the selection process and application of wax as used as a protective and decorative finish.

The goal of this presentation is to explain why we are selecting the use of wax, the preparation of the surface prior to application, the application of the wax and the maintenance of the piece after application.

But, before I start in detail, there is a selection process we must go through every time make something, this is applicable whether it be a Table, Box, Piece of Art or a small Egg turned on a lathe. Most of us, through experience, do not go through this process consciously every time, but sub-consciously we do, it all comes down to past experience.

There are 5 main categories/thought processes we must apply in each and every project these are listed below.
1. Why finish a product
Why do we apply a finish, whatever it may be?
• To give some protection to the finished item from damage
• To enhance or change the appearance of the material used.

2. Selection of finish
The first questions we have to ask ourselves, even before we start the project is “What level of protection do we want/need”?
i. Cosmetic (Art pieces, decorative – non use items)
ii. Durable (chairs, cabinets, beds)
iii. Heavy Use (table tops, work surfaces)
iv. Inside or outside (will the project come into contact with the elements ({sun, wind, rain snow})

3. Surface Preparation
The amount of work done on surface preparation largely depends on the following:
i. The type of finish/protection selected.
ii. The material used.
iii. The appearance of the final project (Rustic, everyday use, fine use).

4. Applying the finish
The application of the finish is largely determined by the finish selected, but could be one of the following:
• Spray
• Brush or roller
• Hand applied (rubbed or wiped)

5. Maintenance
This last part of the process involves what must be done to maintain, sometimes even to enhance the project after it is finished and in place.

I did have a specific reason to want to go to Rockler, I needed some hardware. Unfortunately they did not stock it as a normal item, Internet only, or special request. But I did find an alternative item, now that I am home was probably the better of the two choices. I also picked up a “Hock” blade and chip breaker for my Record No 4. Unfortunately it does not fit the plane 100% correctly (98%) and the results are worse than the original blade – so I can see me making a No 5 or 6 wooden body to fit to the blade (which is really very nice). The really good thing was they only charged me half price for the blade, at $18, I have no complaints.

We then headed off to Dublin, Ca, where were to visit the Woodcraft Store (I had a gift voucher I wanted to use). I found the staff there really helpful and it was not long before I had started to fill my basket with the second part of my shopping list – One thing I did buy, which was not on the list was some “Purple Heart”, not too much, just a 4’ x 5”x ¾”, which they kindly cut in half for me so it would fit in my suitcase. Please note we cannot buy PH in Finland and I had never seen it before watch out to see how I use it!

It was then time to leave and visit Obi (http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/Obi ) – Obi is situated in Salida, Ca, which was not too far from Dublin. Matt took his own car and I continued my travels with Wayne after about 40 minutes or so we arrived at the workshop of Obi.

We were greeted warmly and instantly shown the “Finger”,

This was a small finger that Obi had been working on (it was extremely realistic), we just wondered when the rest of the body was going to be completed?

It seemed that he was already working on the head, we found a template for the upper teeth.

Matt and Obi discussing an old guitar.

After many enjoyable hours of conversation it was time for the compulsory Group photographs.

NOTE: Obi is still showing us the finger! And look I did buy a LJ shirt. Wayne’s T-shirt also had some significance which escapes my memory at the moment, but I am sure he will enlighten us all some day

I am not too sure how long we spent with Obi; I do know it was not long enough – the time passed too quickly.

Wayne and I said our goodbyes at this point, he was heading off home, and Matt had kindly offered to drop me back off in San Francisco.

Matt and I spent a very pleasant hour or so driving back to my hotel, where our discussion was all too short.

I would like to thank everybody for making my first real visit to the US such an enjoyable and memorable occasion. The warmth, hospitality, and friendship shown were second to none. So please be warned I am already planning a return trip.

We can now reveal the real reason behind my visit the San Francisco. Forget about the 10 day skiing trip in a premier location, forget about travelling too one of the nicest places in the world that I have been, Forget about Californian Hospitality and Sunshine – The real reason behind this sham was to make a snap ISO 9000 inspection on the infamous Ms Debbie’s shop tours.

We had been receiving nothing but good reviews, nothing bad was ever said – this had to be too good to be true – so with international help in the form of Wayne C we decided to do a snap inspection (PS I’m sending LJ the whole bill for the trip) after much consultation with many LJs in TOP SECRET (the coffee lounge), we managed to lure one unsuspecting LJ into inviting us to his workshop.

Ms Debbie had previously undertaken a tour of this LJs workshop http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/Radish/blog/2430 some two and half months ago, but we smelled a rat in the report (or was it just a wet Fur Hat?). The work shop was too clean and tidy – nothing out of place.

So here is the report.

Friday 18 January 2008 – the telephone rings and it is Special LJ Agent Wayne C – “I will pick you up in front of your Hotel in about an hour” – the phone goes dead. I wait in the shadows of the hotel lobby (to keep out of the sun), when a large SUV pulls up with darkened windows, I was hastened into the front passengers seat and with the squeal of tyres and smell of burning rubber Agent Wayne C has the pedal to the metal (actually about 25 mph, the traffic is a little heavy) and we are off on our secret assignment. Sitting in the back of the car, wearing dark glasses was Junior agent Tyler (Wayne C’s son), who was just along for the ride.

Whilst driving and weaving around traffic, Agent Wayne C outlines the plans of out mission over the next 36 hours – were heading south on I1.

Our Target (http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/Blake ), who was aware of our coming, but not our ultimate intention, was not at the pre-arranged meeting place (http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/Blake/blog/3122 ) at the pre-assigned time. It was his day off and he had got delayed. So we took advantage to look around this LJs place of work (Day Job) – all we could see were lots and lots of second-hand tools. Some of them were in pretty good condition, but very few wood working tools, Agent WayneC and my self suspected that an inside influence (the mark) might have had something to do with lack of woodworking tools in this vast array of used power and hand tools (he later denied this allegation, saying “the boss wont let me”. And we do not think he was talking about his employer.).

Unfortunately the agent who was in charge of collecting visual information about this place (me) forgot to take the camera out (sorry!).

We waited only a short time, then the subject was in sight, driving one of those more sensible Pick-Up trucks (you know the one I mean, the one where the engine is less than 5000 CC and less than 5M Nm of torque) – here was the man who was going to make or break the myth of the great LJ inspector Ms Debbie.

Meeting Blake was great, a first time also for Wayne C, Blake then explained about how the business was running and what type of customers they had – I wish that we had stores like this here in Finland. So after about half an hour we were invited to visit the home and workshop of Blake, we picked up some sandwiches along the way and headed off into the countryside. Upon arrival we were welcomed into the house, where Blake explained the renovations he and his wife had been doing to there home, we then loaded the provisions we had bought plus the extra rations that had provided into our arms and headed down the path to the workshop, where we would see the truth.

The workshop is set in a paddock about half an acre, bordering on a small stream/river and surrounded by tall trees and wilderness. This was an idyllic setting and would inspire any person too be so creative. The workshop was clean, but not too clean, not too large, but large enough for the type of work that was undertaking. There was plenty of natural light from the windows and ventilation was certainly not a problem!

The first thing I noticed in the workshop, was not the table saw, but rather the new router station had recently built, complete with Incra fence system, it was awesome and well designed and built, any person would be proud to have this in there arsenal of tools.

As time was short, we decided that a working lunch, on the move lunch, was the best way forward. Blake explained that the layout was continually evolving with changes here and there as the projects being worked upon needed. He also outlined plans that he had or further improvements he wanted to make to the workshop.

I remembered to take the camera this time and decided to make a visual record of the shop, so we could analyse the results at a later time.

During our discussions the subject of chair building and finishing with wax came up – I promised that I will post two blogs on both subjects in the near, as soon as my current project is finalised (10 Chairs).

If I had to criticise Blake’s workshop and we did discuss this. Lumber storage! Blake does not have too much cut lumber, but what he does have is not stored in the most efficient manner and boards are just resting against the wall totally taking up one corner of the small workshop (look behind blake in the above picture). A redesign of this will not only get the lumber off the floor and give more valuable working space, but will also help to keep the lumber in a better condition. (Blake, as you have so much natural ventilation in the workshop, the humidity inside and outside workshop are probably not much different, you might consider freeing up this corner totally {more space for tools[Lathe]} and making a storage place, undercover,outside).

Blake showed us some of the smaller projects he was working on and some of the problems he was encountering, but more importantly how he was overcoming these problems. We finished off this meeting, which I guess was about 3 hours, by posing for some photographs – I wish I had had a longer to stay and work with Blake, I found him to be both inspirational and self motivated – he would be welcome to work with me at any time.

Wayne C, Blake & Tony

Reluctantly, we walked back up the hill to where we had left the cars, and we reluctantly said our good byes and headed off back North or our next visit.
So in summary was our mission a failure or success, did Ms Debbie pass muster? We would have to say a resounding YES – Thank you Ms Debbie for all your work. Thank you Blake for sharing your home and time with us – It will never be forgotten.

On our way home in the “Rush Hour” the roads were all busy with people heading home, oblivious to the self-importance of the three of us.

So Wayne took a shortcut on the coast road, and this is where I saw my first Californian Sunset – I can now totally understand why people want to live here.

Wayne & Tyler (Wayne’s son)

As this blog went on a little longer than I expected, I will continue with day two on a separate entry.

This blog is also intended as a supplement to Bob #2 blog http://lumberjocks.com/topics/1766#reply-19323 Traveling post 9-11 in North America.

The travelling between Helsinki and Vancouver, via Frankfurt went without any problems what so ever – we flew with the German airline Lufthansa. The security restrictions for entry into Americas was reduced as of the 1st January 2008, so No need to remove our shoes, or to go through the second security check point.

Arrival at Vancouver, going through the immigration control was really easy and straight forward, a few strange questions, but it was all over in 15 minutes, even with the large queues. Then onto collect our baggage – we just found the carousel, when the first bag on the belt was mine, then my wife’s bags came, our friends bags followed, but I was still waiting for my second suitcase and waiting and waiting – then there were no more bags coming out – Oh S#!T, what a way to start the holiday – went to the baggage claim place and queued for 45 minutes to report the lost piece, just as it was my turn, I got a call, you bag has just come out of the hole. 1 hour 30 minutes later than the rest.

Any way we picked up the limo and got to whistler. I won’t bore you with the details of the holiday, other than to say it was BLOODY expensive there, even with the favourable exchange rate it cost more than double the amount we pay in the Alps! But the skiing was perfect, the best ever.

Ok onto the trip to San Francisco. We booked the flight with Air Canada – so queued and waited to check in, only to be told, that they had subcontracted that flight to United Airlines – So of we toddle with 4 baggage carts and queued in the United queue – got the front of the line and gave our papers to the check-in assistant – only to be told that we had to use there electronic check in machines first – So baggage and carts out of the line, found a machine filled in the necessary information into the computer (which was just confirming the information they already had on file), then back into the United queue again. Then they present us with more paperwork to fill in, why this cannot all be done online, or at least print the forms before you arrive at the airport I do not know. Any way then to US Customs – they guy on the desk was really great, but I was a bit surprised when they took my finger prints and photograph. The customs guy was really patient with my wife, as he waited for her to adjust her make-up and hair before having her photograph taken.

The United flight was a nightmare – I felt like one of the factory farmed chickens, the seating was so narrow, and the knee space was at an absolute minimum – The passenger in front of my wife was a real A## Hole, he insisted on having his seat fully reclined for the whole flight, regardless of our pleas for a little space. WE WILL NEVER FLY WITH UNITED AGAIN they are a shambles.

Arrived in SFO – straight through to baggage claim – no customs or immigration – I liked this very much.
Well the next 4 days are covered in Part two, but the flight home from SFO to HEL, was like the flight out, not a problem Check-in, Customs, Immigration all went like a dream– I am just glad that my wife did not find out that they allowed a 5th suitcase free for a couple (unofficial), other wise Macys shares would have gone through the roof.

Here is a link to the final projects-

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/2542
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/2559

http://lumberjocks.com/assets/pictures/projects/9436-438x.jpg?1233630507

After several e-mails requesting the plans for the Dan Walters cutting board I copied I decided to put some information together to get people started.

The first thing to decide is what size of board you want as this will dictate the stock you need. Or the stock you have will dictate what size cutting board you can make.

Stock selection: you need to have a good contrast between the different woods used. The wood selected should also be hard woods, but not necessarily too hard. OAK, ASH and BEECH are very hard and durable, but Cherry, Mahogany and Alder are hard wood s, they are not so durable.
When the stock is selected for use, the first thing to do is prepare a plan so you know what size to cut/prepare everything!

You can get a better picture from here ( http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi/Boards/Ken%20Walters%20-%20Latice%20-1.jpg)

The plan above it what I used for the layout of the larger of the two boards I made.

Before we start cutting wood, the saw blade must be exactly 90° to the bed of the table saw. The mitre gauge must be exactly 90° to the saw blade, even a 0.1° error will show up in the final product.

Here you can see the prepared stock, with the walnut glued to the Ash. The stock is thicknessed on the planer at the same time, with the same settings. The stock is then ripped on the table saw again using the same settings – we have to be micrometer perfect.

Now we can start to cross cut. Ensure that the length of the crosscut is exactly the same as the width of the stock.

Cut enough square parts as per your plan, in my case 8 Ash & Walnut and 24 Bird Cherry

Next set up the length of the long pieces 15 in total. You need to be accurate here, just setting 4 ½” is not enough. Take the long piece against 3 of the blocks you have cut and check that they are perfectly flush.

So before we continue we have to clean up the blocks. Small whispers of fibre as shown below will play havoc with your assembly. I used 180 grain sand paper for this, be careful not to round the corners.
BEFORE
AFTER Really clean edges

The blocks are assembled and to check for the fit before applying the glue.

I stopped taking photographs at this point. The glue a used on the first board was polyurethane and the second a D3 waterproof PVA. The open time of the polyurethane is better for this assembly.
Apply glue to the mating surfaces and clamp. I laid the whole piece out on a sheet of plastic (to stop the glue sticking to my workbench) and clamped in the vertical and horizontal axis.
If everything is cut exactly correctly, then the blocks should not lift under pressure, if they do – using a block of wood and a mallet tap the back down to be flush with the adjacent blocks.
You could add a lot and I mean a lot of weight on top of the blocks to keep them in place (about 50lb/25kg per block)
Leave it to dry, overnight is always good, then you can remove the clamps and start the clean up.
I used my belt sander with 60 grit to start, then 80 and finally 120, grain, then went onto my random orbit sander and started with 120, then 180, and finally 240. Then onto my small oscillating finishing sander with 240 and 320 grit – do this on both sides.
WARNING – If you use the belt sander the wood will get quite hot, if you have used PVA glue, this may reactivate the glue softening it, this can cause the stresses in the wood to bow, buckle you flat finish, if this does happen just place a clamping caule over the high spot whilst the wood is still hot, correct the error and wait for the for the board to cool down, it will flatten out again (PVA glue can be reactivated with heat many days after it cures).
So both sides of the board are now flat and parallel! Now start the finishing in accordance with the instructions on the packet/Tin. Take your time and you will end up with a work of art, that is too good cut fillet steak on.

I hoped this helped those of you who just needed a little guidance.

Here are a couple of photographs of the work space T-Boxes, the Unisaw and the workbench. Just need a coat of wax tomorrow morning and is ready to go.

The longest and hardest job – was cutting the extended tracks and fitting the aluminium inserts in the out-feed table. They are perfectly aligned and I get NO binding at all over the whole length. The extended tracks are used for my panel cutting Jig (Left or right side) with a depth of cut up to 80cm.

I have now updated the drawings of the workshop and have added the before and after drawings. I have gained considerable space, the only thing I do not like is the dust extraction piped being on the floor (it is the best place, as I do not want a vertical pipe in the middle of the room).

BEFORE

AFTER

Both Joiner and planer are on mobile bases and can be easily moved with a minimum of effort. This update has given me huge perfectly flat work area, which can be used for assembley, Vacuum bagging large sheets and improved the sheet material handling capabilities. In addition I also have a large area behind the table which is totally free space, store partially finished items, such as chairs whilst they are waiting to go to the finishing room.

I hope that this short series will show that with carefully planning you can optimize your working space – the most important thing is “A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING” and “EVERYTHING IN IT’S PLACE”. Keep the workshop clean and tidy and you will have more space and a safer place to work.

I have fitted both of the tables together, levelled them and they have got there first coat of Finnish on them (Photographs next time). I have added a sketch of the two tables fitted to the table saw – showing the size.

The tables are level and relatively flat (there is some undulations especially where the two tables meet. This deviation in a planer surface is no more that 0.5mm (20 thou), I can live with that, especially since the DELTA out-feed and Side table had deviations greater that 1/8”

DELAYS – This has turned out to be a bigger job than first planned; it has affected every major machine in the shop to some degree or another. The result will be worth it, I will have more work surface and more free space. (Free space – free space – I have place for more tools {drool} now how do get them without the wife knowing???)

The big delay yesterday and today was having to reroute the dust extraction ducts and pipe work – I have shortened the system by 3m (10ft) of 6” pipe and removed a 90° elbow – so it should be more efficient??
Tomorrow, I hope to start tidying up, and take some more photographs. Monday I have to move the Band Saw and Drill press. Tuesday I start my next project (a bed)

I decided that a new side table that would remain FLAT and true is what I needed – As I also needed an assembly table (NO SPACE) I looked at the idea of combining the two. Thanks to an article on the “The Wood Whisperer” ( http://blip.tv/file/get/TheWoodWhisperer-AssemblyTableTop777.flv ) Mark showed how to make Torsion Box (T-Box) Table top. I knew that T-Boxes were remarkably strong and stable, so I decided to proceed in producing my own Version.

I have decided to replace both the Out-Feed Table and the Table to Right of the saw with T-Boxes. The first to be built will the Table to the Right. I decided to increase the width to 1220mm (4’) and the Length to 2m (76 ¾”)

This shows the level base that all the work is undertake from. I did not have any 4×2s, so I utilized so 5×1 the edges were jointed and then ripped. To keep the boards in place, i just used some off-cuts which are stapled together to make this quite rigid frame.

The base was leveled using a 1.8m spirit level and the Wixey angle gauge. The leveling was undertaken using shims – which were Hot Glued to the frame and the tables. (A sharp tap with a mallet breaks the glue free at the end of the operation)

One of the two skins is placed on top of the frame – as can be seen, it is not very flat.

To overcome several problems, I covered the ply with a plastic sheet (stops the glue from sticking), I staples the sheet through the ply to frame. This held the plastic in Place and flattened the plywood. The photograph also shows all the parts, pre cut before the beginning of the operation.

The Layout and Plan – The material for the outer frame is fir, the matrix inside and the skins are 9.5 mm (3/8”) plywood, the spacing of the matrix is 137mm (5.4”), with an adjustment at one side and one end

Cutting List

The outer frame is assembled, with Glue, Staples and held in place for an hour with clamps and square blocks.

The Matrix is finished – The clamps were used to hold the frame steady – to stop it “creeping” during assembly.

The skin is placed on top the matrix (no glue yet) and the outside of the skin is marked where the staples are going to be placed. I do not have a big dry wall square like Mark, so I used a good old fashioned chalk line.

The skin is removed; a bead of glue is placed on every edge of the matrix. The skin is carefully repositioned aligning the marks you made earlier and stapled together. I use staples instead of brads, as they have a greater holing power, plus you have t chances of getting at least one of the legs into the matrix.

Leave this the first halve to set for an hour and then remove the – half finished T-Box. Remove the plastic sheet and the skin from the base (DO NOT DISTURB the base). Remove any of the stables from the second skin.

Now just repeat what you did earlier to the first skin. I left mine over night to cure fully and then in the morning a used a flush trimming bit in a router to tidy up the sides and ends.

I then dismantled the base and removed the hot glue from the work surfaces with a sharp chisel.

So this is as far as I have got with this part of the Make-over. Friday I hope to have the T-Box fitted to the Table saw, and be starting on the second of my T-Boxes for the out-feed table.

So as you will see I do not have a good space for assemble of projects, so this update is all about maximising the limited space that I have.

Episode 3 will now contain the Table saw upgrade.

The first thing that needed to be done, which I started some time at the beginning of May, was to update the work bench. The drawer system I am still not happy with for the following reasons.

1. When working at the bench, I tend to leave the drawer open partially (bad habit) and the drawers tend to fill with sawdust.
2. The drawer containing my planes and scrapers has become too full – but even with only the hand planes in the draw – it is too heavy and does not slide that easily – it really needs some full extension runners, but the design does not allow for this. – I have tries various things to make the drawers slide easier, but only the reduction in weight works.
3. I am getting older and the drawers are getting too low and all the constant bending is not doing my back much good.

I will update the tool storage system sometime in the near future, but not in this make over.
The update to the bench is a new work surface/Top. The old one I made about 3 years ago, but it was a lamination of different materials- it stayed nice and flat, but the actual work surface was made from Alder (that’s all I could get at the time) and it was definitely too soft. I could have skimmed the top ½” off and re-surfaced it, with a harder wood, but then I would have all the trouble with realigning the “bench dog” holes so I decided to make a new top.

The new top is made from 8/4 Beech, the dimensions are exactly the same as the old one (2m x 0.86m {76 ¾ “ x 34” } . There are a couple of pieces of White Oak and Birch, but these are from the vices, I did not want to remake these as they were in good condition (I remade these in April).
I also reduced the number of bench dog holes (round) – hopefully less sawdust will fall into the storage space beneath the workbench.

The top was surfaced machine planed, then glued together. The final levelling was hand planed and scraped – and finally had hand sanded down to 120g to remove the shine.
The top is finished with 2 coats of poly, thinned with 40% White Spirit (mineral spirit) and a thin coat of paste wax. I just wanted some protection against glue spillage or stain.

The new workbench top

Just another view of the work bench and part of the layout of the current shop.

Part 2 will be the table saw Upgrade.

The first thing to note is that my Stihl 660 was delivered with a 70cm Blade (Logosol), not the standard 40cm, at my request.

So this saw uses 25 parts petrol to 1 part 2-stroke oil. Unlike the rest of my equipment has a 40:1 petrol/oil mix. Once the chain-oil reservoir and petrol/oil tanks were filled, the blade and chain attached – we pulled the chord a few times and the saw burst into life – we let it idle for a few minutes and then checked that the chain oiler was working – No problems, just a trace at the tip as it was supposed to be.

Once the motor is warm, in between cuts, the motor starts first pull every time – but run out fuel, refill and then try to restart – it is a “bitch” could do with a little primer pump.

I did use the saw on its own, without the M7 – it worked like a dream, cutting (cross-cutting) through the 1m wide stump of the Cherry tree, like a hot knife through butter.

When used in conjunction with the M7 (Rip-Cutting) I could not fault the performance of the motor, even when the blade was fully embedded in the log being cut.

The only down side was that my saw was delivered with a Swedish/Danish/Norwegian/Finnish manual, not a word of English anywhere – Hardly surprising since I live in the middle of these countries. Luckily, I was familiar with chainsaw procedures and spoke some German (some similarities to these languages). No download was available in English from the net, but a quick e-mail to www.Stihl.de and a few days later a lovely new ENGLISH hand book was in the mailbox.

So onto the M7. My M7 was provided by the manufacturers Logosol from Sweden, but this is available worldwide at www.logosol.com, just select your country or language from the menu.

The Technical details about the M7 are here http://www.logosol.com/_sawmills/m7/technical_data.php

The M7 arrived with the Stihl 660 in 5 boxes, 2 boxes for the M7, 2 for the Stihl, and the 5th for some other accessories I purchased.

On unpacking the M7, I found the manual to be in Swedish only – So being a good engineer, ignored the words and looked only at the pictures and started to assemble the saw the way I thought is should be assembled – about an hour later, I decided that a quick trip into the house to the PC would be beneficial, I downloaded the latest manual from Logosol in English, whilst I was waiting for my coffee to cook!

All the Nuts, bolts, washers are packaged into 7 bags – Each bag contains exactly the correct amount of materials for competing 1 or 2 pages of instructions. There is also a bag containing a mixture of all the Nuts, bolts and washers you have already used as spare parts – great idea (take them with you if you go into the field, you will need them). Do not forget the associated spanners and Hex keys.

Following the written guides as well as the photographs it was much easier – not that the assembly is difficult – it was easily achieved in 4 hours, including coffee.

The next day, I set the M7 out on a perfectly flat and level surface and proceeded to double check the angles and tightness of the bolts – I then gave the all the silver parts a quick spray with Boeshield T-9 http://www.boeshield.com/

CHILDREN PLEASE NOT TRY THIS AT HOME – TRAINED PROFFESSIONALS ONLY

The M7 is not really heavy – about 60kg (160lbs), but with a 5m50 (18’) boom attached it can be a little difficult to get the balance and lift it on your own. Any way, I got mine into my 8’*4’ trailer without too many problems.

Next I made a set of steps to help load the logs onto the M7, see the previous blog – In the Logosol videos and literature, they show a 2 pier step system, I built a 3-pier step system, as I knew the first logs I must cut were less than 2 m, and this would aid me moving these heavy lumps of wood on my own. These were loaded into the trailer as well.

Before I set off on my first expedition to recycle this Cherry, I re-watched the Logosol’s Videos in Swedish, re-read the instruction manual, and generally got a good feeling for the operation of the machine before leaving.

So the first important step to cutting good wood. Make sure you have a firm and level base and that both the legs of the M7 are co-planer, if they are not, you will twist the rail and not get a good cut. This took me about 45 minutes, but this included digging out some of the ground to get the M7 and the steps level – Each site will be different. I will be making a permanent base for the M7 at home, just in case I cannot cut my lumber on the owner’s site.

The operation was simple and smooth, as expected. The only fault I found was that some of the square nuts (not Nylock) decided to vibrate loose on the second day. A couple of nuts were lost; luckily I had my bag of spare parts and spanners with me.

What more can I say – I highly recommend the Logosol product, I have received nothing but excellent support from the team in Sweden. I am looking forward to the autumn (October/November) to start my next batch of timber cutting.

If any of you have got any specific questions about the operation of the saw or M7 please post your questions here or e-mail me, I will be more than happy to answer them. I hope you enjoyed the short series

Today I finished cutting all the timber I could with the M7. There were several really big, but short pieces I would have liked to cut up, but they were less than 1 meter long, by 75 cm wide. Very heavy, but too short to manoeuvre onto the M7 alone – The M7 is really designed for pieces longer than 2M in length.
This was a physically tiring exercise, with only one person, yesterday I did have some help and it made the job much easier – the biggest problem was the short length of the logs – has they all been over 2 M long, it would have been much easier. So an early shower, and back to tidy up the property tomorrow.

This shows the “steps” that were used to raise the logs to the M7 bed

All packed up and ready to go home (75M) – The trailer is an 8*4 and everything fits inside nicely, just have to watch out for the overhang front and rear (1.3M)

Here is the final stack of lumber – it is 40% 6/4, 20% 8/4 5% ≥12/4 and 35% outside pieces and garbage. The outside pieces make good weights to hold the lumber down. I just have to cover it now with a plastic sheet.

This is a sample I cut on my band saw some weeks ago. It was only a ½ “ thick so dried quite quickly. The TUOMI (Finnish name for the tree)/Bird Cherry cuts and sands beautifully, very similar to American black cherry, but the variations in colour are more pronounced in this specimen, than the Black Cherry I have in stock. This piece was sanded to 220 grit. On the Left side it is finished with a natural paste wax and on the right it is finished with Cherry paste wax. The photograph does not do justice to the colours.

As requested, the concluding part, when I have recovered some energy, with be a review of the M7 and its operation.

My new neighbours cut down a tree (May) on their property as it was in there way – they did not know what it was at the time and they had the tree surgeon cut it into short 1.5 (5ft) lengths so they could take it to the dump.

I was not sure what it was either, as it had no leaves left on it – anyway they said I could take it providing I got rid of all of it for them. So not wanting to be unwilling neighbour I said I would oblige.

I did some research on the net, checking the bark and now leaves on similar looking trees and to my surprise I found out it was a “BIRD CHERRY” Prunus padus. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_cherry_%28subgenus%29 ) .

This tree only grows to about 15m (50ft) with a diameter of about 60Cm (2ft). The tree that was cut down was closer to 25m (82Ft) in height and the diameter was nearly 90cm (3ft).

So for my birthday present, from me, I bought a LOGOSOL – M7 Portable Saw Mill. (http://www.logosol.com/_sawmills/m7/ ), with a Stihl chainsaw and 70 cm (27 ½ ”) Blade.

I estimate that when this all “AIR DRIED” in about 18 months then I will have about 1.5 M3 prime cherry – this will have paid for more than 65% of the cost of the saw. So I am looking out for tree No. 2

So below are some of the results of two days of setting up and cutting lumber.

THIS IS THE FIRST OF THE REALY BIG LOGS – (1.5 m * 60 cm) boy was it heavy

THE SAW BEFORE THE ACTION

STARTING THE FIRST CUT

FIRST CUT COMPLETED

WHAT WAS INSIDE

THE FIRST 1½” PLANK COMPLETED

The photographs do not do justice to the colours in the wood – it is goung to make some wonderful furniture.

I post the concluding part of this blog is a few days, when I have completed the cutting,, tidying up the site and recovered some strength and stamina – This is really hard & Heavy work!

The blog is about the WIXEY Angle Gauge, Saw fence Digital Readout and the Planer depth gauge

All three items arrived from the European distributor yesterday by courier.

So first the WIXEY ANGLE GAUGE/METER

There is not much to do with this unit when it arrives – just remove the battery cover, insert the battery and switch on. The operation of the gauge is very easy. I did find that my gauge when checking my blade in the table saw was wrong by 0.1°. This is within the tolerance of the gauge. I undertake more testing over the next few weeks and post the results. You should note that you ARE NOT limited to using this only on metal surfaces. With care you can use it on aluminium or wood – it just does not “stick” to the surface.

*In summary* a wonderful little tool, which will be very useful inside and outside the shop. Excellent value for your buck!

*WIXEY DIGITAL SAW READOUT* The first thing I noted was the excellent packaging inside the carton. Things were held in place to stop them moving about during shipment. (Other suppliers of equipment take note)

So all the parts removed from the packaging and checked, the instructions read and understood!

If you follow the enclosed instruction to the letter you cannot go wrong. However, the exception was step 1.

When fitting the two halves together, they were not cut at 090°, this was the best fit I could get without machining the surfaces. If I was not so far away from the dealership, I would have returned it.

Fitting of the tracks are the most critical part of the assembly, if you get this wrong you will have problems later. I would suggest that you take one or two dry runs at this part of the process, including the part of getting the spacing correct between the two tracks – once they are stuck down – there is no going back.

Fitting the brackets to the Biesemayer fence is not difficult, just take your time. For the half inch spacing they state for my fence, I just use a piece of 12.5mm plywood (this is not critical measurement)

Once the fence rail is reinstalled, connecting the interface plate to the fence (a good time to lubricate the fence mechanism) and you finished. Just follow the instructions for calibration. I made a couple of test cuts and the was +0.01mm and 0.015mm difference in the two test cuts I made.

Let’s face it’s not a lot, you cannot get that sort of accuracy with a tape or ruler, it’s about one fiftieth of the thickness of the mark your reading.

The little readout is clearly visible whilst standing and is small enough not to get in the way – i did not notice it was there compared to operation without it.

I would recommend that you separate the fence and the readout before removing the fence – the construction is good, but it is not heavy industry/commercial quality, it will become damaged, so a little care now and it should last a long time.

My installation measures 50” to the right and -10” to the left – you could vary this for your own needs so long as it is a total of 60”. It would be nice if WIXEY offered an additional 30” extension. The little box can handle it.

Installation time was about an hour and a half, including the coffee.

_*In summary *_– with my failing eyesight a great asset for accurate measurements. I know that, even when I change the blade on my saw, from 2.3mm kerf up to 20mm kerf, I will always have an accurate reading to the left or right of the blade. Good value for your bucks.

Lastly the *WIXEY DIGITAL READOUT for PORTABLE PLANERS*

Well my planer id portable it is on wheels it the Delta DC-380. I know this device was not primarily designed to be used with this larger machine, well I was up for the challenge and if it did not work, then I had another use for the readout (see the end of the blog)

So the packaging was a little disappointing compared to the saw readout, but I guess it was just adequate.

So the first part of the task was to understand the operation of the gauge and find a suitable mounting position – it was at this point in the operation that the instructions became virtually useless.

I am not going to bore you all with the design decisions, but rather show the results. So the wedge above is made from MDF and cut at 005° - this gives me a right angle to the planer table (I used the Wixey angle gauge). The wedge is “HOT GLUED” in position, this is a development in progress, not a production solution.

This is the bracket that attached the Wixey gauge to the wedge (12.5mm ply)

Here is the bracket attached to the planer. The small rectangle of plywood is “Hot glued” to the head of the planer (This part moves up & down).

Here is a front view of the competed installation.

And the last photograph – this shows the calibration of the gauge, which is a slight variation on the recommended calibration.

If you do follow this, be warned the Gauge will measure exactly 6”, my planer extends to 6.25”, if you are planning at this dimension, you may have to temporarily disconnect the Wixey.

I ran a couple of small test strips and I was very happy with results – it was lot easier to read and without saying a lot more accurate than the built in height gauge. Accuracy was again within 0.01mm. Time will tell.

*In summary* – I think that this will be a valuable addition to my DC-380 and will make for accurate stock preparation and faster production. Excellent value for your buck.

Another use. I was thinking of another use for the planer gauge. I am going to try and fit it to my Radial Arm Saw (RAS). This would be especially useful for DADO depth cutting.

There may be problems with the maximum depth useable. I’ll post my findings = or maybe somebody else would like to try it?

I hope you found this informative.